


life in the first degree

by opaldawn



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: "trapped in a small space together" trope, F/F, Heists, Kissing, Pre-Canon, aka the same tags i use on every single one of my fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29743686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opaldawn/pseuds/opaldawn
Summary: And now, even trapped in a four-by-six-by-four hidey-hole with armed staff searching for them outside, Vespa can hear a hint of levity in Buddy's voice. It helps to calm her down, just a little, the adrenaline of the chase still coursing through her blood and making her dizzy."Your heart's pounding," Buddy says in a near whisper."No shit," Vespa growls. "God, it wasn't just me I was scared for, you know that? I didn't want anything to happen toyou!""Vespa," Buddy starts, but Vespa's already decided that that's enough talk about their feelings for today. She wriggles around just a little so she's perfectly face-to-face with Buddy, surges forward, and kisses her.
Relationships: Buddy Aurinko/Vespa Ilkay
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27
Collections: The Penumbra Podcast Femslash February 2021!





	life in the first degree

**Author's Note:**

> no content warnings! sorry in advance for the few lines of ridiculous gratuitous fanservice slash secondhand embarrassment. em fluff-rock held me at gunpoint

Buddy's nails are digging into the back of her hand as the two sprint down a lushly-carpeted hallway. They'd studied the floorplans extensively, but apparently not extensively enough, if the five armed guards right at their heels are anything to judge by. 

Vespa's thankful that the multibillionare whose mansion they're raiding has such a penchant for luxury- the walls are covered with tapestries and rich, silken hangings, which are probably the only reasons that they haven't been blasted right through the skulls already. Wouldn't want an errant shot to burn down the entire mansion. Unfortunately, the same logic goes for the two of them, which means all they can really do is  _ run.  _ She doesn't even want to chance the second-long slowdown that it would take to grab a knife from her back pocket.

They've been in a few narrow scrapes like this since they've started out together, but it… well, it hasn't gotten any easier. Back when she was working on her own, a little jog like this would've been nothing. She'd probably have taken the risk, gutted the guards without a second thought.

It's harder knowing that she's not just risking her own life. God, it's harder knowing that there would be someone left behind to miss her if those guards got to her. 

The hallways wind, rich colors and rich furniture blurring past her eyes as they run. The two of them are faster, but the guards know the mansion better, and it's old enough and eccentric enough that every hallway seems like it could be a dead end. Her heart sinks as she realizes that this one in particular is looking like it'll turn out that way, the carpeting coming to a stop in front of a large plate-glass window. The guards are just out of sight as she glances over her shoulder, but their footsteps are getting closer every second.

She's halfway through calculating whether a six-story fall or a two-on-five fight has better odds, when Buddy gasps and tugs on her arm so hard she thinks she hears something in it pop. Then she's thrown against the wall, and has just a split second to wonder what the hell Buddy's thinking before… huh. 

Before a section of the wall creaks and spins around, and she's falling hands-first into a dark, dusty little nook. 

_ Fall on your elbows, not on your wrists,  _ she thinks on instinct, but doesn't have the chance to act on it. She hits the wall of the crawl space hard, stumbling to keep her balance. Just as she does, Buddy tumbles in next to her, significantly more gracefully. 

Then the wall swings closed again and they're in pitch darkness. 

"Uh," she supplies. Buddy squeezes her wrist once, sharply, and whispers, "Quiet."

Well, that makes sense. She can do that. She tries to take stock of where they are- a little hidden stone room, just about large enough to turn around in, short enough she has to stoop. A wine cellar, maybe, or a broom closet. 

The sound of heavy boots outside remind her of exactly the predicament they're in. Remind her that if any one of these goons knows about the door, if they hear a single sound from inside, the two of them are no better than sitting ducks. She grasps blindly for Buddy's hand and grips it tightly when she finds it. 

Muffled talking from the outside kicks her heart into tenth gear, and she strains to hear what they're saying. Fuck, she doesn't want to die like this, hiding in some stock trader's storage room. But it's not like there's much she can do right now, so she just stays quiet and clings to Buddy like a lifeline. 

She doesn't know how long it is (seconds? minutes? maybe hours, even, it sure feels like an eternity), but when it comes, the carpet-muffled click of steel-toed boots retreating is the most incredible sound in the world. 

After a few minutes with no sound from outside, she chances a whisper. "Do you think they're gone?"

"It certainly sounds like it," Buddy replies, hushed, "but we should stay on guard. They're most likely searching the mansion-"

As if on cue, an alarm blares from the outside. It's muffled as well, through the thick wall and the echoey-cold stone, but it's still piercing and distinct.

"Shit," Vespa groans. 

"I suppose this is the best place in here we could possibly be," Buddy says. "According to my research, even the house's current owner doesn't know about this place. It was built as a secret space for the original proprietor to keep his valuables, but doesn't show up on any floorplans- except, of course, the ones I'd procured."

And now, even trapped in a four-by-six-by-four hidey-hole with armed staff searching for them outside, Vespa can hear a hint of levity in Buddy's voice. It helps to calm her down, just a little, the adrenaline of the chase still coursing through her blood and making her dizzy.

"Oh my god," she says, throat suddenly a little dry. "Oh my- fuck. That was close, Buddy, that was so-"

Buddy lets out a relieved little laugh. "It was, wasn't it. And horrible for my blood pressure, I'm sure."

Now that there's a little less immediate mortal peril, Vespa's mind catches up with her and she realizes that, with the size of the room, she and Buddy are pressed right up against each other, barely even any room to jostle. This isn't… something she minds, strictly speaking. Better than hiding out in here alone, at any rate. 

"Dark in here, huh," she comments just for the sake of commenting. 

"Quite," Buddy says, her breath warm against Vespa's neck. "Have you got your flashlight with you?"

"Yeah, one sec-" She goes to reach into her pocket, but can't move her elbow far enough. When she tries to wiggle around to better reach it, she hits her head against the far wall.  _ This isn't going to work.  _

"Uh," she starts. "D'you, uh- can you, uh, reach my pocket from where you are? I'm, like, a little stuck against the wall, and-" She's so thankful that the current darkness hides her blush, which she can feel working its way up her face and down her neck. 

"I think so." Buddy feels around a little bit (god, they're on a  _ heist,  _ why does stuff like this always  _ happen _ ), eventually finding Vespa's pocket and extracting the flashlight. (Does her hand linger a little? Vespa doesn't even have anything near the mental capacity left to think about that.) 

"Thanks," she mutters. Buddy gives a little hum of response and clicks on the light. 

It doesn't do much, really not much more than a keychain penlight, but it casts a flickering glow on both of their faces. Buddy's hair is hanging in her face a little bit, and Vespa instinctively reaches out to push it behind her ear.

"So, uh," she says. "Guess we're here for a while?"

"Seems so," Buddy replies. "Certainly not how I'd been expecting this heist to go, but we were lucky that we knew about this room."

"That  _ you _ knew about this room," Vespa corrects her. "God, if it'd just been me… I don't even know." Part of her is still running, running, her mind spinning, thoughts a little fuzzy. "Too close a call. I was- I was scared, I guess." She looks down towards the floor with a scowl. Showing any kind of  _ vulnerability  _ is still… not her favorite thing to do, even to Buddy. 

"Oh, darling," Buddy says, reaching out and touching Vespa's chin, "I'd never have let anything bad happen to you. I'd have fought each and every one of them if it'd come to that."

"Good thing it didn't." Buddy's touch is grounding, helps her keep her mind from racing away with the possibilities of what could've happened. Her other arm is wrapped around Vespa's torso, now, holding her close. When had that happened? 

"Your heart's pounding," Buddy says in a near whisper. 

"No shit," Vespa growls. "God, it wasn't just  _ me  _ I was scared about, you know that? I didn't want anything to happen to  _ you! _ "    
  


"Vespa," Buddy starts, but Vespa's already decided that that's enough talk about their  _ feelings  _ for today. She wriggles around just a little so she's perfectly face-to-face with Buddy, surges forward, and kisses her.

Their teeth clack together embarrassingly as Buddy's back hits the far wall. Vespa lets up a little, but keeps her arms wound just as tightly within Buddy's own. The adrenaline of the chase, and the relief of their escape, hit her in a heady rush that mingles with the flavor of Buddy's lipstick and the sensation of their tongues meeting. 

She pulls back for air eventually, and Buddy lets out a sigh that's quickly cut off in another kiss. They're pressed up so close against each other that they're practically intertwined. Vespa tangles one hand in Buddy's hair and tugs a little, standing on her tiptoes to keep the kiss intact. 

"Darling, I-" Buddy says breathily the next time they break apart. 

"Shut up and let me keep kissing you," Vespa tells her. She's almost dizzy at this point, and she knows that if Buddy wasn't holding her, she'd be leaning against the wall. Her mind buzzes as she presses her lips to Buddy's again, licks into her mouth.  _ God.  _

Even with the breaking flashlight in the dark of the closet, even through her blurry, adrenaline-stained vision, there's no doubt in her mind about one thing. Buddy Aurinko's gotta be the most beautiful sight she'll ever see. 

**Author's Note:**

> not sure how much i like this one but i was sick of it sitting in my drafts. leave me a comment and change my mind. title from bryan scary's the blood club which is the best song ever. follow me on twitter @vesbud


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